


A Day of Learning

by crabapplered



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Bondage, Dubious Consent, Gags, Humiliation, M/M, Piercings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-10
Updated: 2011-11-10
Packaged: 2017-10-25 21:55:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/275233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabapplered/pseuds/crabapplered
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke learns all kinds of things when they start his sexual tutoring, but there's only one thing he's really interested in learning. . .</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day of Learning

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, all I want is porn.

Luke's morning starts with the clink and clatter of locks being undone, the sigh of hinges, and Guy's cheerful voice: "Morning, Luke! How'd you sleep?"

The ball gag keeps Luke from answering so he whimpers instead, turning his face away from Guy. Shame and embarrassment make his face flame - he knows he's filthy from yesterday, stinking of sweat and sex, hair and skin still covered in traces from both.

"Hey now, don't be like that," Guy says, his voice going gentle. "We went over this yesterday, Luke. You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

The blindfold keeps him from seeing Guy's face, but Luke can picture it clear enough: blue eyes warm and gentle like summer sky, soft smile. He'd looked at Luke that way a thousand times before and it never failed to make Luke feel that much better, that much safer.

But now . . .

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up, okay? You'll feel better after that." Guy's gloved hands grip Luke's harness, and with the creak of leather he helps Luke shift, stand, and slowly step out of the padded box. Every movement is pure torment, hovering somewhere between cramping discomfort and shivering pleasure as the toys still stuffed into Luke's body tease him, as the remnants from yesterday make themselves known in Luke's ass, as his bladder and gut complain. "How're your legs? Any cramping?"

He shakes his head. Sweat is already prickling at his temples. He shivers in the cool of the room, nipples hardening, face still hot and flushed. Guy's fingers brush across his cheek in a brief caress, and Luke's hands twitch in their cuffs, chained together in front of him and then chained again to his heavy collar. He's not sure if he wants to shove Guy away or grab him and pull him closer, clutch at him for reassurance in this crazy new life.

"Good. Bathroom's to the left, remember? We'll go nice and slow." Guy's fingers tangle in Luke's harness again, tugging him forward toward the bathroom. Luke follows, more trusting today to let himself be guided but more hesitant now that he's started to grasp the routine. They've only been at this for about a week as far as he can tell, just long enough for the shock of it all to wear off, but the heavy mix of emotions -fear, anticipation, lust, shame- keeps him confused and pliant to his captors' wiles.

The floor goes from plush carpeting to cool, slick tile. Guy leads him further in, then turns him around and coaxes him to sit on the cold porcelain toilet. The rustles of cloth as Guy strips down makes Luke whimper again, deep in his chest, and he covers his face with his hands.

"Luke. . . " sighs Guy.

He undoes the belt around Luke's waist, pulls it and its straps away. Then his bare hands are hot, hot on Luke's skin as he traces the line of Luke's spine down and down to his ass, to the buttplug the belt harness had kept firmly wedged in all night.

Luke jerks at the touch there, squirms because he wants it, doesn't want it, wants it-

Guy pulls it out, and what follows is a disgusting, wet mess Luke doesn't even want to think about, but the cramps in his gut ease and he sobs with relief. There's the sound of running water, a cool, wet cloth on his skin, and Guy gets him to stand and starts cleaning him up.

The relief feels good, the care feels good, getting clean feels amazing, and Luke's confused heart clutches those pleasures close. But they're faint compensation for the fact that he can't even wipe his own ass anymore.

Fingers in his hair as Guy pets him. "You know, I used to do this for you all the time when you were a kid. Other side now."

Luke turns obediently, and Guy presses himself to Luke's back, skin to skin as he's as naked as Luke is for this, his soft cock pressed up against the sensitized cleft of Luke's ass. His arms come around, and his clever hands undo the second binding: the delicate metal cage around Luke's cock that keeps the slender metal rod in place inside Luke's urethra. It all comes away and Luke's allowed release again, Guy's hands on Luke's dick to guide him and keep him from embarrassing himself further.

"You didn't know anything back then, not even how your own body worked. I was always having to clean you up." He presses a kiss to Luke's temple. "So this isn't anything I haven't done before, okay? Just concentrate on how I'm taking care of you and ignore the rest."

Luke snorts and rolls his eyes behind the blindfold. _Easy for you to say, Guy. You still get to hold your own dick when you pee._

"Ha ha, yeah. I guess it is kinda hard to just ignore it, hmm? But maybe you could learn to enjoy it?" That last it breathed into Luke's ear, hot and damp, and two of Guy's fingers tease at Luke's asshole, at his balls, at his cock.

"Mmph!" It feels good. So _much_ of this whole crazy situation feels good, and how can he fight it, really, when it's Guy who's doing this to him? Sunny, sweet, loyal Guy who's always been by his side? He taught Luke how to tie his shoes, how to button his shirt. He snuck Luke candy and toys and friendship in that lonely cage of a manor.

And when Luke had lost everything and everyone to the blasphemous mistake of Akzeriuth, _Guy_ _came back._

So it doesn't matter that Luke's life has suddenly turned into a hallucination of sex and want and submission, and that Guy is cheerfully pushing him into slavery -no, into becoming a _toy_. It doesn't matter. Luke still trusts him.

So he can't bring himself to fight any of this. 

Guy chuckles and feathers kisses at the nape of Luke's neck above the collar, across his shoulders, over his cheek. He traces the curve of Luke's half-hard cock. "See? Feels nice, right?"

Luke nods hesitantly.

"So that's what you should focus on. Things have been rough on you, Luke. Now it's time to enjoy yourself a little, okay?"  
 _  
But . . ._

"C'mon. Lets get into the tub."

The promise of hot water is enough to distract Luke from any protests. He follows docilely along, gingerly steps down into the sunken tub with Guy's firm grip on his arm a comforting security against falls.

The harness is unbuckled and pulled from his chest, leaving the skin feeling oddly sensitive from the ghost of pressure. He hears it clink against the tile floor as Guy sets it aside, and then Luke is pulled into Guy's lap for washing.

Hot water up to his neck and the sharp smell of lavender soap. He moans around the gag.

"Hmm. Your muscles sore, Luke?"

He nods emphatically. Grunts in surprise as Guy's fingers dig into the muscles of his lower back, hitting tension spots and forcing the muscles to relax. It's a bright, warm pain that eases into liquid bliss as Guy works over Luke's shoulders, his neck, his back. His ass.

Thumbs dig into the sides of Luke's anus, stretch the skin there and tease the opening. He whimpers, still sore, still scared by how his body's suddenly become a thing for Guy to open and use, but knowing by now that it'll also feel good.

"I know it aches, but it's like any other muscle. You just need to strengthen it, make it more flexible. In a little wile this'll be no problem."

The thought of it becoming 'no problem' makes Luke at once queasy and curious, excited to imagine the pleasure without the ache, worried at what it'll mean for him. This is all training, and what it'll make him become . . .

Fingers in his ass, pushing up and up and inside him, and he clenches around them without thought, drawing them deeper into his body, tilting his hips because by now he's learned that if he does it just so Guy will rub inside him and yes, yes, that feels good!

He groans in frustration when Guy pulls his fingers out.

"Hey, you know you only get to go all the way after breakfast with his Imperial Majesty." Another kiss pressed to Luke's temple, and Guy's fingers cup Luke's balls, stroke their underside. Pointedly ignore Luke's straining cock. "Let's get you cleaned nice and quick so you can go see him, hmm?"

Aching now from something other than sore muscles, Luke nods and sighs.

_It's not like I've really got a choice anyways, right?_

~

The walk to Peony is something Luke dreads because he's clean and dry but also naked but for the blindfold, the collar, the leather straps that bind him. Guy's shifted Luke's arms so that they're tied folded behind his back, a strap connecting them to Luke's collar forcing him to stand straight instead of hunching forward. There's no harness to guide Luke anymore, either, just a leash on his collar to tug him in the right direction.

The halls are cool, the floor is cold, and Luke can feel his nipples peak again. It seems kinda strange for them to react to the cold when he's burning with embarrassment, cheeks and ears so hot they hurt, fingers clenched tight, tight into white-knuckled fists that grind his nails into his palms.

There are guards in this hall. He _knows_ there are - there have to be in the Imperial palace, and it's not like he and Guy are taking some secret passage. He can even hear them, sometimes. The clink of armour. The soft sound of cloth. The hiss of breath.

And Guy parades him down the hall in front of them, naked and blind and helpless, dick still treacherously half-hard from the bath, face flushed, and everyone's gotta know what's being done to him by now and it makes him squirm inside so badly. Are they laughing at him? He probably looks really stupid like this.

Today they go up stairs and through new sets of doors, and Luke hears soft oinking, feels the warm brush of a round body against his leg. One of Peony's rappigs has gotten loose again, and has come to find Guy.

"Hey, Aslan. You gonna come with us to visit Peony? Yeah? That's a good boy. C'mon."  
 _  
Great. Can this get any more embarrassing?_

"Ah, Guy! Good to see you this morning."

 _Oh. Right. Of course it can,_ Luke thinks, now on the edge of hysteria and seriously considering bolting, because that voice was Jade's, and when it comes to the last person Luke wants to have see him like this Jade pretty much takes first prize. Not because Jade says anything, but because he _doesn't_.

It makes Luke's skin crawl as he imagines those scarlet eyes raking over him with impartial scrutiny, Jade's bland smile, his utter indifference to seeing Luke like this. Like Luke's been paraded around like this all the time. Like it's normal.

"You also going to see his Majesty?" Guy asks. He doesn't say anything to Luke, but the leash goes taunt as he's obviously shifted his grip. The message is clear, and Luke tries his best to calm down. It's not like he can get far, anyways, right? Not blind and bound. And if he tries he'll have to spend the rest of the day with hobbles tied to his knees. He's learned that the hard way.

"Yes. I have a few reports to deliver this morning, but I seem to have missed him in his quarters. Shall we go together, then?"

"Fine by me. He's taking breakfast out on the garden balcony this morning."

"Delightful. I'm sure the guards are overjoyed at being able to make overtime pay trying to keep him from being shot full of arrows."

Guy laughs. "I did hear some of them talking about early retirement, though I think they were more into the idea of quitting before the stress killed them than any kind of financial advantage." A light tug on Luke's leash gets them moving again, a casual stroll with Luke and Aslan the rappig trailing behind, silent spectators to the conversation.

 _I wish Mieu was here,_ Luke thinks with a sudden stab of loneliness.  
 _  
'Master, Master,'_ Luke imagines Mieu squealing, _'How come they make you wear rings around your bits? Is that to let you breath fire, too? Is that how come you're always so red?'_  
 _  
. . . Maybe it's a good thing Mieu isn't here._

A bit more walking and another set of doors, and then they've obviously reached their destination because Aslan suddenly takes off with a patter of hooves and happy oinking, and the next voice is Peony's. "Aslan! There's my darling. I thought you'd run off and hid again. Yes, I know, you're a very clever rappig. Oh, Gailardia. Come join me for breakfast. And Jade! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"To the sixteen page report on road repairs, the petition for a new aqueduct in the lower quarters, and appeals from five different merchant groups to clear out the areas south-west of Theor Forrest to hopefully begin a new mine."

"Honestly, Jade. Are you trying to spoil my digestion?"

"Not especially, your Majesty, but I can try harder if you wish."

It's just familiar banter between the two, and it almost helps Luke forget he's now standing in plain view on the garden balcony. What helps more, though, is that Guy coaxes Luke to kneel down with knees slightly spread to accommodate his poor, stiff cock, and then fingers begin removing Luke's blindfold.

That's not Guy. Not Peony or even Jade.

Luke squints and blinks as the blindfold is pulled away and he's allowed his first sight of the morning, the same sight he sees every morning now: Asch's face, framed by the waterfall of his scarlet hair and the heavy black leather collar that forces his chin up, his face forward. Peony called it a "posture collar", though why you'd have to put that on someone like Asch, who stands military straight even when relaxed, mystifies Luke.

Today Asch glares down at him with a blush liberally watercoloured across his fair cheekbones, his green eyes sparking and daring Luke to comment. That glare drops to Luke's cock, and Luke's own blush returns with a vengeance, so hot that sweat beads on his skin, rolls down his throat and traces his collarbone, down his stomach to dip ticklishly into his navel. It doesn't help that having Asch glare at him seems to make his cock harder, hotter, stiff-straight and start leaking.

But that's normal, right? Guy said it was normal for someone his age, normal for someone going through this training . . .

At times like this he's desperately jealous of Asch, who gets to sit at the table like a normal person, who's only bound with the black collar and bright red hobbles, who gets to wear all the clothing he wants, which for Asch means the only skin visible is his face. And Asch sure doesn't have problems with rogue erections - Luke can't help but glance at the cleft of tight black pants every time and see that his original stays unmoved.

Asch sets the blindfold aside on the breakfast table, between the jam and the fruit bowl, and goes to work on Luke's gag. Jade is watching them with a faint smile while Guy settles in the third chair and helps himself to buttered croissants. Peony cradles Aslan in his lap, and leans forward for a better view.

"Kiss his fingers, Luke," he says when Asch finally pulls the ballgag free.

Luke has to raise himself up a bit to reach - Asch has pulled away reflexively from the touch, even though his fingers are as covered as the rest of him. Shyly, Luke presses his lips to the tips of Asch's gloved fingers, and watches through his lashes as Asch's scowl gets even fiercer.

"Good. Remember to thank him like that each morning. He's the one who feeds you, after all."

Luke nods hesitantly. "'kay." He doesn't take his gaze from Asch's face. His original seems especially sour this morning, and Luke remembers a lesson he learned on his journey: just because he can't see anything wrong doesn't mean Asch isn't suffering. He bites his lip, stares up at Asch and searches his face for signs of pain, of fear. 

Asch sets the ballgag down on the blindfold, turns back with a plate of sliced apples and notices Luke's stare. "Quit it," he hisses. "Quit looking at me weird."

"They're not hurting you, right?" Luke asks.

Asch's expression turns comfortingly familiar, a mixture of contempt and incredulity that Luke is so stupid. "I'm fine."

Luke sighs with relief. "That's good. Everything's so weird now, and I never see you. You don't even talk in my head anymore. So. . . I was worried."

"Worry about yourself, idiot! You're the one who- ugh." Asch crams an apple slice into Luke's mouth so hard he chokes. "Just. Shut up."

Well, that's definitely normal Asch. Reassured, Luke concentrates on eating. The apple is crisp and sweetly sour, tangy on his tongue, and when Asch feeds him strong cheese next the two tastes sharpen and play off each other in a pleasant duet. Luke hums happily. Presses another thankful kiss to Asch's fingers at the next offering.

Asch only huffs and glances away. Peony, though, smiles approval and turns back to Jade and Guy, to eating breakfast and ignoring reports. The morning proceeds as what's become usual from there, with Peony making casual conversation with his breakfast guests and sneaking treats off his plate to Aslan, and Asch feeding Luke in between his own bites of breakfast, giving Luke orange juice to sip slowly from the cup he holds to Luke's lips. It's almost close to normal, except for the fact that Luke's cock is still bobbing up proudly between his thighs.

It'd have gone down by now except Asch's shifted position in his chair, and his foot has slid between Luke's knees and keeps nudging Luke's balls. Asch hasn't noticed yet, and Luke's too embarrassed about it to tell him even though Guy keeps explaining to him that everyone understands. It's just such a jump to realize that Malkuth nobles often have tied-up naked people in their homes, that even someone like Guy who left his home when he was just a kid saw enough of this sort of thing that it's no big deal.  
 _  
We really are two different countries,_ Luke muses as he swallows another bite of crepe. Asch's wrapped banana in it, dipped it in chocolate. Luke licks his lips and hums happily. The food, the sunshine, even Asch's grumpy care all help his mood, so that he's positively cheerful. Kneeling on the balcony for so long is a bit hard on his legs, but he's bellow the level of the railing so he gets the illusion of privacy from the guards stationed all around the garden walls, and that lets him relax and get used to being outside like this. Peony's kept him indoors until now. _It's too bad we never visited any Malkuth noble's house on our travels, though. I'd have kinda liked some warning about this._

Breakfast is staring to wind down. Luke's belly is comfortably full but still manages to twist inside him when he thinks about what comes next. Once you get past breakfast, there doesn't seem to be any real routine to this training, so he's got no idea what they'll make him do this time. Yesterday- Yesterday Peony'd had him take toys into his ass, all different kinds and sizes, stretching him out till he felt like he was going to split in half.  Peony'd rubbed Luke's belly and teased him that he could feel the the dildo inside Luke that way. And then he'd had Luke, still stretched inside with that enormous toy, sit on the floor beside him in the Throne Room and hold Peony's cup for him as merchants and nobles came for audiences, their eyes raking over-

"I think you'll spend the morning with Jade," Peony says, and Luke's so startled he bites his tongue.

"Wha- Wait-," he protests, and then immediately clamps his mouth shut. Squeezes his eyes closed because he's just broken one of the first rules he'd been taught: he's only allowed to talk as long as he says the right things.

Peony grins at him over Aslan's happy piggy face. "Don't worry. You were going to get gagged for this anyways."

Jade frowns. "Your Majesty, you know I have a great deal of work to do this morning. I don't have time for games."

The smile Peony turns on Jade is as mild as milk, but Jade's eyebrows still twitch, his posture becoming rigidly straight and military. On guard. "Oh, don't whine, Jade. You'll get plenty of work done. You won't even have to leave your desk. In fact, I think you'll spend all morning there to make things easier on Luke."

"If Luke's spending the morning with Jade, then I should go check on the other rappigs," Guy says, standing up to go. He bends and ruffles Luke's hair. "Have a good morning, Luke. I'll see you at lunch." He leaves without a backward glance, one less ally for Luke to turn to, and Luke leans against Asch's leg a bit for comfort.

Meanwhile, Peony gestures a maid over. "Bring me a ring gag and my toybox. I'll be shipping Luke over to Jade's office for the morning."

She murmurs acknowledgement and hurries off. For Luke's part, he heaves a sigh of relief that he won't be made to walk through the streets like this.

Peony doesn't miss it, lifts an eyebrow at him. "Still shy, hmm? We'll work that out of you. We don't parade our toys out in the main roads, however. That's just tacky."

"But you'll display him on the balcony for everyone to see," Asch retorts tartly.

Peony laces his fingers together on Aslan's forehead. Rests his chin on them and stares at Asch thoughtfully. "I suppose it's difficult for people from your backgrounds to understand. We are pretty different. Hell, just look at how you dress - your nobility shows the least amount of skin possible, even wearing hats indoors. I'm surprised you don't have veils. I promise you, though, that there's etiquette to this.

  
If I were to hang a painting there--" he jerks a thumb at the wall behind him, "it'd still be in my home, but people would be able to see it when the balcony doors were open. This is no different."

"He's not a painting," snarls Asch.

"True. But he's well on his way to becoming a work of art."

It's weird for Luke to hear himself talked about like this, defended by Asch, called 'art' by an Emperor. He looks up at his original's face, fierce as Asch glares at Peony, and Luke feels kinda . . . warm . . . inside. Glances at Peony's face and really sees, for the first time, the appreciative way his eyes linger on Luke's pecs, his belly. His cock.

Master Van sometimes looked at him like that in the changing room, and it always made Luke feel off balance. Is this what it had been about? Had he been picturing Luke like this, kneeling and bound and naked? Van _was_ from Malkuth originally . . .

The maid arrives, along with two other servants carrying the enormous box Luke sleeps in at night. She offers something to Peony, then to Asch at Peony's gesture. Asch takes it from her with another sour frown, turns it over in his hands. Luke fidgets, trying for a better look.

"That's a ring gag," Peony explains. "It's used to keep someone's mouth open. It fits inside behind the incisors. That's why it's padded with rubber, so that it doesn't ruin your toy's teeth."

Asch grunts. Dangles the thing from one hand so that Luke can really see it, a black ring braced by a pair of leather straps. Silver buckle. His green eyes are dark and slitted as he stares at Luke.

Slowly, hesitantly, Luke opens his mouth.

Asch leans forward and puts in the gag, pulls the straps around and buckles it tight, and suddenly Luke can't shut his mouth anymore. Speechless yet held open. He swallows convulsively.

Shivers, because Asch touches Luke's throat under the collar with his leather-gloved hands, the round of Luke's open mouth. Dips a finger in to touch Luke's tongue.

Peony watches it all with a smile. "They're a favourite of mine. Very convenient, don't you think?"

Asch says, "Yes."

He snaps his mouth shut right afterwards, eyes wide and horrified, but the word is still there, hanging in the bright summer morning.

The balcony is very, very quiet. You can see the war on Asch's face: an ugly grimace, a flush that looks downright painful, eyes flashing and wild. Peony simply sits and lets Asch fight with himself. Jade is a silent presence in rigid military posture.

Luke, though, is wide-eyed and shivery, mesmerized by his original, by the confession, by the possibilities it hints at. He can only sort-of grasp the situation at this point, overloaded and off-balance himself, but he knows enough about Asch to realize that the admission was more than Asch ever wanted to reveal about himself, that Asch is not just upset, but furious. Humiliated.

Bound and gagged as he is, Luke can't exactly do much, and Asch wouldn't welcome much either. But Luke can't just let it go. Not with Asch so tense he's shaking. So he leans against Asch's leg in wordless support, and when Asch's dagger gaze falls on him he does his best to look encouraging.

"Damn you! You're not helping," Asch hisses, hand darting out to grip Luke's face, dig his fingers into Luke's cheeks.

"Don't bully him, Asch. He's doing his best for you," says Peony.

"I didn't ask him to!" Asch snaps back, eyes still staring into Luke's, green as poison.

"True, but he'll do it anyways. That what his type are like, right, Jade?"

"You'd know better than I. I'll admit that he's certainly eager to learn and that he puts his whole heart into it, but considering how disgustingly selfish and spoiled he was, I have a difficult time believing it's natural to his character."

"Mmm." Peony toys thoughtfully with one of Aslan's ears. "And yet from what I've been told he hung all over Vandesdelca like ivy off a trellis, no matter what or how he said something to Luke."

The mention of Master Van makes both Luke and Asch shiver, and softens Asch's glare to one of reluctant understanding.

Luke looks away. The memories of Master Van still ache inside him. He _had_ given Master Van his best. He'd given him everything. His trust, his faith, his- his love. Had pushed himself to his limits learning from the man.

And then he's found out his beloved Master hadn't even thought of him as a person.

Jade shrugs. "Well, perhaps. If so, it does make me wonder what could have happened to have turned Luke into such a self-centred terror toward everyone else."

There are a lot of excuses that could be made. Luke is glad for the gag that keeps him from making them. Asch, though . . . now he looks at Luke with that same thoughtful, slitted stare as before, and Luke finds he can't meet that gaze for long.

At least the cage of Asch's fingers has loosened. Luke wonders if his face will bruise.

"There are a lot of things that can ruin a child," Peony says. "I don't think we've anything to gain by going over them all at this point. Asch, put Luke away so he can be brought to Jade's office, won't you?" He sets Aslan down on the ground and rises, stretching his arms and fingers out before him like some big cat flexing its claws. "Jade, I trust you'll play nice with Luke today?"

"Oh, but of course, your Majesty! I would _never_ think to break someone else's toy. That's the owner's privilege."

Luke has little attention to spare their by-play, too focused on keeping his balance as Asch settles him back into the big, padded box that's become his . . . bed? His prison? It's just big enough for him to curled inside it on his side, something that's tricky to manage when his arms are bound behind him. He needs to depend on Asch to brace him, lower him slowly inside.

He's without his blindfold, so the for the first time he can actually watch as they close the lid down over him, watch light and freedom shrink and disappear until all he can see is slender fingers of light spilling in from the air holes peppering the sides, and while he knew the box was small, now he can really see that there's barely a half-foot of space between him and the closed lid.

Then there's the heavy clanking of the locks, and that's it. No escape.

He closes his eyes and fights black a whimper. What if they lose the key? What if his box is dropped in a canal? Hell, what if it's _stolen_? Guy's told him a few stories, and apparently that sort of thing used to happen all the time. There's even whole operas about it! What if the next person who opens the box isn't Asch or Guy or Jade, but some stranger, who'll put his big hands on Luke's bare skin and force Luke to spread his legs so he can- can-

The cool feeling of a wet thread sliding down from his lips distracts him from his panic - mouth open like this means he's drooling. Gross. _Next time I'll ask Asch to put in it after I get to where I'm going,_ he decides. _Being trapped in here is bad enough, but I don't feel like leaving spit all over the place. Ugh. Jade's going to make fun of me, I just know it._

Being in a tiny, dark box as strangers lift you up and carry you around is definitely freaky. Luke doesn't like the way he sways in time to the servants steps, doesn't like how sound is so muffled he can't tell what's going on. The ride is a long one, too.

He tries to figure out where they are through the journey - this turn would be the hallway with all the waterlily paintings, then down the corridor with six statues of the same guy dressed in less and less clothing. This is a spiral staircase - bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump as they go down and around in a corkscrew, and Luke is grateful he's never been prone to motion sickness because this is terrible.

He smells the ocean breeze coming in through the air holes, and the piercing cry of gulls makes its way past the padding. Outside? Already?

He shivers at the though of all those people just outside the walls of his box. They probably know what's inside it, right? This is the noble quarter, so everyone probably has something like this at home, tucked at the foot of their bed or into their closet or beside their dresser or-

The box stops moving.

For a moment, so does Luke's heart.  
 _  
No. No, no, no! It's probably nothing. Jade is with us, right? And Jade won't let me get stolen. Right?_

. . .

 _Jade,_ Luke rages silently, _if you let me get stolen I'll swear I'll haunt you forever!  
_  
Jade probably wouldn't care, but maybe Luke's sheer fury is enough to swing the universe in his favour. The box starts moving again, and there's no further delays as they go up some stairs and down a hall and finally into Jade's office. The box is set down on the ground and shoved along the floor. Into a corner, probably. Out of the way.

A few moments later the locks click open and the lid is slowly eased up. Jade looks down at Luke, scarlet eyes dragging their gaze along the curve of Luke's body. Luke glares at him, still jumpy and ruffled from the sudden stop outside.

"If you're going to be like that I can leave you locked up all morning," Jade says. "I'm only doing this as a favour to his Majesty. I really do have work to do today."

Luke flinches and glances away guiltily.

"Better."

Jade's hands are more slender than Asch's, and not as strong. It means getting out of the box is much more awkward, and Luke stumbles, loses his balance as he rises, and tips into Jade's arms.

The older man staggers back a bit but keeps them both from falling. He holds Luke close against him and helps him step out into the office, and Luke tries very hard to ignore how this is Jade. Jade, with his almost reptilian gaze, his sly smiles, his frightening mind.

It doesn't work very well.

The expression on Jade's face is far too familiar - rueful irritation as he's forced to cope with yet another little problem thrust on him by Peony. Very, well. Very Jade. The scent of him, soap and starch from his uniform, faint cinnamon cologne lingers between them, and the feel of his body up against Luke's, taller and more slender than even Guy, burns in phantom on Luke's bare skin.

Just what is that body going to do with Luke's?

Thanks to almost a week of exciting and strange new teachings, Luke has a much broader library for his imagination to pick from, and he flushes as he glances at Jade's sofa, wondering if he'll find himself bent over it like he'd been on Peony's that first night, back toward the door to display his used ass to reporting soldiers once Jade is through with him. Or if Jade will stroke Luke to aching fullness, stuff Luke's ass with toys and come all over Luke's face and then just make him stand there at attention in a corner. Or if he'll just touch him, those slender fingers on the ripples of Luke's abs, on his throat, on the backs of his knees and the inside of his legs and anywhere, everywhere else.

Luke dick grows stiffer at each fleeting daydream, until it rises up proud and awkward between his legs again, rosy-flushed and plump with lust, with need. One glance at Jade's knowing eyes is enough to set Luke squirming with embarrassment again.

 _We shared rooms in inns all the time,_ Luke tells himself. _It doesn't have to be- It's not-_ _it's_ Jade, he wails to himself. _He's an ass!_

His cock seems to think this is a good thing, not the nightmare of personal shame Luke can't help but view it as. Shouldn't he be capable of some kind of discrimination? What the hell is wrong with his body that it to finds the idea of someone as crazy and unpredictable as Jade in control arousing?

"This will be fairly easy on you," Jade says as he steers Luke toward the desk, snagging a pillow from the couch along the way. "Ring gags are often used to make long term setups like this easier." He tosses the pillow under the desk. "You'll kneel on that."

More awkward manoeuvres so that Luke is in place under the desk, kneeling on the pillow. Jade sits in his chair and pulls it up close, and Luke suddenly has a phenomenal view of Jade's crotch.

He's also pretty sure he knows where this is going.

Watching Jade's fingers unlace his pants is the most bizarre thing. No, wait, the most bizarre thing is watching Jade _pull his cock out_. Just as slender-fair as the rest of him, and Luke can see soft brown curls and the curve and swell of Jade's testicles peeping through the open fabric, too, and before he can really register anything else he's got Jade's dick in his mouth.

He goes absolutely rock solid. Frozen in shock. And then, embarrassingly, he panics.

It starts as a faint tremble in his limbs, the twitch of his shoulders, but before he knows it he's shaking. Shaking, and shaking, and thrashing against his bindings because he's got Jade's cock in his mouth and it's weird, it's weird and he didn't ask for it and he can't do anything about it because Jade's got his fingers buried in Luke's hair, locking his head in place, has got his legs curled over Luke's shoulders to force his body still.

"Luke. Luke, calm down."

Heart hammering, chest heaving, Luke looks up at Jade and whimpers.

"It's fine, Luke. We're not doing anything more than this right now."

How he manages to sound so normal with his _penis_ in Luke's _mouth_ Luke can't imagine, but then again if anyone could do it it's Jade. And it's a good thing, too, because Luke isn't sure anything less than Jade's perfect calm, controlled assurance could have brought Luke down from his panic.

"My apologies. I didn't know you hadn't yet been taught fellatio."

_Fellatio? Is that what this cock-in-mouth thing is?_

"You might have heard of this under another name: blow-jobs."

Oh. Yeah, actually, he had heard that word before, whispered by giggling maids as they swapped stories while cleaning. No wonder they'd blushed and shoved each other, hidden their faces and smiled secret smiles.

Jade sighs. "I'd hoped I wouldn't actually have to teach you anything, but I suppose that was foolish considering it was Peony who set this up. We'll begin slowly by getting you used to having a cock in your mouth, alright?"

Luke nods out of reflex, feels Jade's cock slide in his mouth and swallows, tongues it lightly along the underside without thinking. Jade hisses in a breath and his fingers tighten in Luke's hair.

"Well. You're definitely a natural." Jade's voice is ever so slightly strained, and for some reason that more than anything else makes Luke's face flame crimson, makes his flagging erection spring back up to fullness.

It's strange to kneel here in the dark under Jade's desk, with only Jade's legs and voice and cock and hands. No face. No searching, watching, critical eyes. Just slender fingers that pet Luke's hair in soothing motions, and legs that seem to hug Luke close. Dark and private. And the fullness of Jade's dick fills Luke's mouth with the taste of sweat-salt and skin, his nose with a raw musk that is so similar to, but so different from Jade's normal smell.

The first stirrings of curiosity spark as Luke relaxes. Slowly, carefully, he starts to explore what's in his mouth, tongue tracing the line of it, the shape of it, the fullness. The head and its delicate slit.

"Try- Try sucking it," says Jade's voice, and Luke obeys. It's not easy with the gag, but he manages deep in his throat, and he leans in and lets Jade's cock slide deeper inside him, chokes a bit and has to pull back. Jade lets him, then coaxes him back, again and again until Luke figures out the trick to letting his throat relax so he can go nuzzling after that musky scent in the folds of Jade's pants.

He bobs his head back and forth, learning as best he can just what a cock feels like in his mouth, fascinated despite himself at the salty taste, the soft, soft skin. The incredible heat of it, pleasant warmth on his tongue and in his throat.

And he's trembling inside, ready for the cutting critique, the verbal stab that he knows Jade is just aching to give, but it doesn't come.

But Jade does.

It's not exactly sudden. Jade's legs tensing and curling tighter around Luke, his hands gripping Luke's hair almost to the point of pain, and Luke can hear his breathing, deep, ragged, fast. But it's still unexpected because Luke hadn't been thinking, exactly, and now he's got a mouth full of Jade's seed.  
 _  
What- What do I-?_

"Swallow," purrs Jade, and Luke does.  
 _  
Oh. Oh man. I- I can't believe I just-_

"That was very good, Luke," Jade sighs. His voice is two shades deeper, and Luke is pretty sure he can hear a smile in it. "Now. Do it again."

Luke does.

He learns a lot that morning, the basics of the various ways. He's taught how to coax someone with his mouth, with long, soft strokes of his tongue and suckling, nuzzling against Jade's inner thighs, his crotch. He's taught how to do it hard and fast and take Jade's cock right down his throat. And he's taught what it's like to be taken, fucked, with fingers tangled in his hair, holding him still then yanking him forward, Jade's dick thrusting into him at a brutal pace that strips Luke's throat raw and makes him cough, makes him fight to breathe.

In the long, languid pauses between orgasms Jade teaches him little tricks, coaches him on what's good and what's better. Finally, though, Jade runs his fingers through Luke's hair, then pushes him gently back.

"Mmm. I believe it's time for a break," Jade says, and his voice is somewhat shaky, somewhat breathy. Luke likes the sound of it like that. He wonders what Jade's face looks like right now. Is it flushed? Is he sweating, the fine hairs at his temples damp? Is he still wearing his glasses, and have they fogged up the way they'd get in hard battle sometimes?

It doesn't seem like Luke will ever know. Jade is tucking himself into his pants, doing up the laces and getting up from his chair, but he's leaving Luke in the dark shadows beneath the desk. Luke hears his leave the office and leans against the inside of the desk, rolls his tongue around in his mouth. It's a bit sore - he's using muscles in ways he never before imagined, but it doesn't hurt. His mouth feels sticky, though, and . . . .and _used_. Phantom shape of Jade's dick in his mouth, the lingering taste of Jade's skin and come.

When Jade comes back it's with his face washed, his clothing straightened, and a glass of cool water for Luke. It's messy drinking when you're stuck under a desk and with your mouth held open, and it's made trickier by the fact that Luke can't bring himself to look at Jade, even after what they've just done. Maybe especially because of what they've just done. At least Jade is careful and slow, and only a little of it trickles down Luke's chin.

Jade sets the glass on top of the desk and sighs. Silence sits between him and Luke like an unwanted guest, and the Luke fidgets in his bonds.

Finally, Jade speaks in a very quiet, very neutral voice. "It might interest you to know that I've been through this same training."

Luke jerks in surprise, and Jade's certainly found a way to make Luke look at him because Luke finds himself suddenly unable to look away from Jade's placid, pleasant expression.

"Despite my intelligence, the Curtis family felt I needed to learn a little discipline and humility before they were truly comfortable adopting me. At the same times they were nobles, and as such always looking for a way to strengthen their ties with the Emperor. The solution was obvious: I was trained in this same manner and given to Peony."  
 _  
That . . . actually explains a lot._

"Our relationship has shifted somewhat over the years, but the foundation is still there and," he says, "I still remember very keenly what it was like." He strokes the back of his hand along Luke's cheek. Then he pulls away, adjusts his glasses. "I'm babbling. All this to say that you needn't be embarrassed, especially with me."

Maybe Luke should be thinking about Jade being so open, about the hows and why of people being picked for this training and what it says about himself, but he finds himself snagged on the idea of Jade in his place. Jade, with his mouth held open like this. Jade in leather straps and his arms bound behind his back, and did Peony teach him to suck cock this way? Did Peony bend him over couches and fuck him, or walk him naked down hallways?

And did Jade keep his same obnoxious attitude the whole way through?

Luke is still trying to decide, weighting the picture of Jade, flushed and used and eyes downcast, and Jade, cool and collected and irritatingly smug even with come dripping out his mouth when Jade interrupts his thoughts.

"I see you appreciate the information," Jade says, nudging his foot against Luke's hardening dick. "It's so good to know that an old man like me can still stir the heart of a youngster."

' _Old man' my ass! You came five times in my mouth this morning! What kind of monster_ are _you?! Did the training let you do this?_

"We've still got an hour before we need to rejoin Peony for lunch. Let's have a little more fun before then, shall we?" Jade purrs, and settles back into his chair.

~

"So how was your morning, Luke?" Peony lounges on a couch in his sitting room, surrounded by contented rappigs and various gilded plates of food, Jade and Guy sitting at the table with him, Asch in a fourth chair with Luke kneeling at his feet.

"It was, uh. Good?" Luke says. It always feels weird to talk so casually after he's been gagged for a while, especially since he knows that he'll get gagged again if he says the wrong things, which usually just means being rude or making demands, but once or twice it's been asking questions so . . . . He chews his lower lip thoughtfully.

"Something you want to ask?" Peony prompts him.

"Yeah, I guess so. Jade said . . . uh." He darts a quick look at Jade, unsure if this is something else he's supposed to keep secret. But Guy hadn't been lying about this training not being shameful, because Jade just waves a careless hand for him to continue. "He said he was given this training to learn discipline. Is that why you're doing this to me?"

Peony blinks and twitches a little, as if the question is completely odd. "No, of course not. You're well past the stage of needing that."

Luke stares at him. Frowns, and tries to figure out what to ask next. 'Why?' is one of the questions that gets him gagged, so that's out, especially since he hasn't eaten yet. But he really wants to know. Maybe: ". . . what's the reason for having me trained like this?" he tries.

Peony stares at him thoughtfully, rubbing the belly of one of his rappigs. Jade, Guy, and Asch keep eating, ignoring the whole thing, and Luke wishes he could eat with them, that Asch would at least feed him something. There's cucumber sandwiches and lobster salad, and vinegared rice and chilled fruit. After all the salt from -Luke's cheeks sting with blush at the memory- from Jade, Luke could really go for something sweet, something mild.

"I could tell you that you're being trained because you were the better choice for it, but I don't think that's actually what you're asking," Peony says.

 _Better choice? Compared to who?_ "Uh, no. Not really."

Peony hmms. "Did Jade tell you that he was given to me after his training was complete?"

"Yeah. He said it was because the Curtises wanted to 'strengthen their ties' with the Emperor."

"Exactly. It was a political gift, and a very thoughtful one by our standards: a dear friend and a skilled toy in one." Peony straightens into a crosslegged position, nudging aside the rappig and picking up one of the sandwiches. He gestures with it as he says, "You know the relationship between Malkuth and Kimlasca is still rocky; that's what you and Asch are doing here in the first place since you're hostages toward Kimlasca's good behaviour. Now, that may be your primary role, but your presence here has given me to opportunity to offer the same gift."

Luke turns that over in his mind. "You mean I'm being trained up as a political present to someone in Kimlasca? But-" Alarm beats its wings inside him. "-but who-"

"Idiot," mutters Asch.

Luke looks up at him, puzzled at first, then with slow dawning realization as he takes in Asch's blush, his angry stare. Angry? Maybe . . . maybe more like defensive?

"Asch?" Luke breaths. He can't believe it.

"He's just as much the son of a Duke as you are," Peony reminds Luke, "A tertiary heir to the throne is an excellent person to ply with gifts, especially when he's such close friends with the actual heir. And since proper training isn't available in your country, and I had exactly the right person to gift him with under my roof . . ." Peony shrugs.

 _Exactly the right . . ?_ Luke tries to wrap his mind around that, tries to link the concept with Asch's glares and fierce attitude and verbal attacks. Remembers Asch's leg between shoved between his knees this morning, the way Asch had been seemly ignorant of just where his foot had been but had still bloomed red with blush.  
 _  
. . . no way._ Luke shakes his head, dazed. He'd sort of wondered but- It's just too weird. Asch doesn't- he couldn't- "But you don't even _like_ me!" he blurts.

"Oh, to be young and innocent again," says Jade. Everyone ignores him.

"Either you shut up right now, or I'll gag you again and you can go without lunch," Asch threatens.

Luke hesitates, torn. This is- It's just so strange. But he's not going to get answers even if he asks, he realizes as he look at Asch's scowling face, so he settles back reluctantly and nods obedience.

Some of the hostility goes out of Asch. He glares at Luke a moment longer, then turns his attention to the plates to find something for Luke to eat. Luke just watches him, trying to figure out just what his original is thinking. Feeling.  
 _  
Man, what a pain. He gets so mad when I ask questions, and he wasn't even looking at me this morning when he- when he touched me. He got mad at himself for talking about how much he liked the ring gag, too,_ Luke suddenly remembers. _No, wait. He got embarrassed. Is he- is Asch_ shy?

It seems like a crazy idea. What's Asch got to be shy about, when he gets to wear clothing and sit on chairs and keep his body to himself?

But, well, it kind of fits, too. So when Asch offers him a cucumber sandwich, Luke decides to try something. He's not really good at subtle, but he knows from training with Master Van what qualifies as body language for a challenge, so he goes for the opposite of that: Keeps his body relaxed, arms settled in their bindings behind his back, his head lowered, and when he looks up at Asch it's indirectly, through his lashes.

 _He looks so different when he's not scowling,_ Luke thinks dazedly. Is suddenly struck by the memory of cradling Asch's body in his arms, his original's face peaceful at last as the world dissolved around them. It had been so achingly wrong, so perfectly right, to have Asch so close, the anger gone. And now Luke can have that with Asch alive and well? With Asch still sharp and bright and mesmerizing? _Wow._

And all it takes is making sure that Asch thinks he's not a threat.

 _That's why I'm tied up,_ Luke realizes. _To make me helpless!_

A lot of things start fitting together at that point: the blindfold, the bindings, even the gags when he flashes attitude, the box he sleeps in and the cleaning ritual in the morning with Guy, they're all to teach him the lesson of helplessness. It dizzies him. Does Asch really need this so badly?  
 _  
But he gets so mad at me when I just surrender, like in Eldrant when I tried to give him the Jewel and avoid a fight. Ugh! He's so confusing!_ He fumes to himself silently. _You're a pain in the ass, Asch._ He risks a more direct glance at his original and catches Asch in profile, picking over the lunch plates, a cherry between his lips. His face is still clear of rage, and Luke's heart does a funny twist inside him. Asch just spends so much time angry. Doesn't he get tired? Doesn't he remember how to smile?

Luke had thought that after . . . after he disappeared, Asch would get his happy ending. He'd stolen Asch's life, his family, for seven years. Didn't Asch deserve to have some of that back? But things had snowballed out of control and in the end they had proven too tangled in each other to escape their mutual destinies. Death had taken them both, and then life had come again, and suddenly it _was_ 'after', and neither of them looked to have any kind of ending at all. Despite Natalia's longings and the Duke's hints, Asch had remained distant and uncomfortable around his family and former loved ones. And Luke himself had felt adrift, unsure what part he was supposed to play anymore. Asch refused to be 'Luke' any longer, but that only seemed to cause more confusion.

Truth is, Peony's demand for peace hostages had seemed a blessing from Yulia herself. At last, a role they could both understand.

And then things had gotten weird.

 _At least I've got an idea of what I'm supposed to do with myself here_ , Luke muses. He opens his mouth obediently to let Asch feed him rice, spoonful by spoonful. _I wonder if Asch likes it better here, too?_ Another look through his lashes at Asch fine features, the brow unlined by irritation or frustration. _I wonder if I could learn something to make him smile?_

The idea makes a delicious shiver run down his spine, bright flush touch Luke's cheeks and heat his ears. 'Something' means sex - with his mouth, with his hands, with his ass and cock and whatever else Peony's gonna make him learn to use. And the thought of those 'somethings' making Asch smile . . .  
 _  
He put the gag in my mouth this morning. Did he know I was gonna learn about blow-jobs with it? Does he- does he want to do that with me?_ He tries to imagine it: Asch's cock in his mouth.

It's Asch which means he'd be angry and rough about it, fingers tangled in Luke's hair, pulling, hurting, demanding. He'd choke Luke on his cock, force it right down Luke's throat and Luke would have to take it, kneeling between Asch's pale thighs, and does Asch smell the same as Luke down between his legs? Do they taste the same when they come? Will Asch make the same sobbing gasps Luke can't help but voice, or will he growl deep in his chest like he does before a fight?

Head thrown back and throat bared and scarlet hair streaming about his white shoulders. Luke wants to see him like that. Luke wants to see him lose the anger and feel something else. Something better.

And when Asch is flushed and sweating in the aftermath, spent and tired, Luke wants to see him smile.

"I told you to stop staring at me!" Asch snarls in the present, and Luke ducks his head guiltily.

"Sorry." He bites his lip and wilts a little. So much for making Asch happy.

"And don't act like that, either! It makes me sick to see you."

Oh, now that's not fair. "Make up your mind, dammit" Luke flares. "Do you want me to look at you or not?" And he's trying so hard, too!

"That's not- You're such a thick headed _idiot_! How did anyone mistake a piece of shit like you for me? You just open your mouth and stupid flows out," Asch raves, flinging the rice spoon onto the table so hard it bounces.

 _Damn_ , Luke sighs to himself. _So much for that._ He sulkily accepts the gag Asch pushes past his teeth.

"Guess lunch is over, huh?" says Guy.

~

Whatever Luke had imagined for after lunch, it hadn't been this.

"We're lucky he used a ring gag," Guy says, entirely too cheerful for someone holding clamps to Luke's tongue with one hand, and an enormous needle in the other. "Makes this nice and simple. Deep breath, okay, Luke?"

Luke whimpers his assent.

"Here we go- there! Lemme just get the stud in."

There's a moment of fumbling and then Guy pulls back, and Luke finds himself with brand new jewelery: a golden tongue stud. Him, who didn't even known you could pierce a tongue.

"D'you want an apple gel now, or after we're finished?" Guy asks, cleaning the needle in a brisk, businesslike fashion. It glints in the shadows of the marble gazebo they sit in, a bright line of silver in Guy's hands that's brother to the five others set in a neat row in the padded velvet case that lies open on the stone bench Luke and Guy sit on.  
 _  
After we're finished?_ Luke thinks, trembling. _Just what else are you going to do to me?_ He whimpers again, and whatever he looks like it must be pretty pathetic because Guy pauses, then sets his tools aside.

"Here, have this." He pushes an apple gel into Luke mouth, and studies Luke carefully as he swallows. "I guess this is pretty freaky, huh? I'm a little surprised, though. I thought this would be way easier for you after the morning with Jade."

Luke shakes his head emphatically no. Now that he's healed, he's both a little fascinated and repulsed by what's just been done to him. He runs his tongue up against the roof of his mouth, playing with the slick, cool feeling of metal someplace strange. Why would anyone want to pierce their tongue? It's not like people often saw it, unless you had their mouth open with a gag this way, and that's only for-

Oh. Would it- would it feel good against someone's cock? Warm wet tongue and then teasing slide of metal coolness. . . yeah, that would feel nice.

Of course, it won't just be someone's cock. It'll be Asch's.

Luke finds himself slightly obsessed with the idea.

"Would it help if I told you what else I'm going to do?"

Luke hesitates. Kinda shrugs, kinda nods. He honestly doesn't know.

"Right. Well, I'm doing your belly button next. That's what Asch really wanted done to begin with," Guy says, and dips a teasing fingertip into Luke's navel. "I guess he figured that if you show it off all the time with those belly shirts you might as well have a reason. Peony showed him some of the paintings of previous Imperial Concubines, though, and I guess Asch got a little wild because after that he asked me to do both your nipples and your cock."

Luke just sort of sits there. He's trying to parse what he's just heard, is putting it together in rough pieces: Asch wanting this. Asch wanting holes poked in Luke. Asch wanting holes poked in Luke's _dick._

 _I didn't think I pissed him off_ that _badly at lunch,_ Luke thinks in near hysterics. His hands jerk reflexively in their cuffs, and it's a good thing Guy shifted them to thigh bindings because if they'd still been behind his back he might have panicked as badly as he did in Jade's office, would have probably fallen on his face as he stumbles to his feet and backs away across the marble tile.

It's pretty clear now that Guy chose this place, a quiet little water garden tucked into a discreet nook of the palace grounds, as a soothing location, but wisteria and waterlilies aren't nearly enough to counter the adrenaline flooding Luke's system.

"Don't like that idea, huh? Lemme guess, it's the cock piercing that's got you so freaked out."

Luke nods his head so hard it makes him dizzy. He knows better than to try a mad dash out of the garden, but it doesn't keep him for looking longingly toward the Palace.

"What about the others? Will you at least let me pierce your navel? Asch really wanted that one."

Luke hesitates. Something inside him wails that Guy is cheating, but the rest of him is curling in on itself in warm confusion. Asch . . . He's being trained for Asch, being given to Asch, and his body is being changed, being marked for Asch.

Asch wants Luke to get down on his knees and suck Asch's cock. That's the only reason he'd have Luke's tongue pierced, a truth that burns in Luke's soul all the moreso because it's so rare for him to actually know what the hell Asch wants.

Now he knows something else Asch wants, and he weighs that against the sheer weirdness of this, the invasive bit of scariness involved.

Dragonflies drone and flit through the flower-perfumed air. Blue, green, scarlet and gold. Bright streaks of colour, shimmering, glittering against the pale backdrop of the palace. Luke watches them until a flash of colour further up catches his eye: bright scarlet and black shadow and pale, pale skin in a window: Asch is tucked against the window's arch and looking down at Luke.

Watching.

A shiver works its way up Luke's spine, and he quickly looks away. He doesn't think Asch will be happy if he knows Luke spotted him. Not when Asch's doing his best to stay hidden like that.

It sure underlines what Guy is saying though, transforming the idea of Asch's desire into something tangible and hot, something that makes Luke's toes curl against the cool marble tile of the gazebo. He looks again at the neat row of needles, remembers Guy's touch in the dip of his navel, and wonders if Asch will want to do that if there's a stud there. Would he play with it? Tug it? Trace his finger around it and then follow the trail of pubic hair down and down and touch Luke's cock?

What would he do if Luke's cock was pierced?

That thought- that's still too much. But Guy is promising only Luke's belly button, and that's nothing, really. Just a little hole. Luke's been hurt way worse than that in their journey to save the world. Right?

Luke takes a slow step back toward Guy.

"Right. Just the belly button," Guy says, smiling. "Then we'll talk about the rest."

Luke sits gingerly on the edge of marble bench and nods.

"I'll need you to lie down for this, Luke."

Oh. That's a bit trickier - Luke needs Guy's help to lie down since his hands are bound, and the stone bench is so narrow it's more comfortable to let his legs fall to either side of it, leaving him spread open and spread out in front of Guy. More importantly, it means Luke's head is tipped back at exactly the right angle to see Asch in the window. Is it his imagination, or does Asch lean forward when Guy puts a warm hand on Luke's belly to pinch the skin?

Can he see from there? Can he see Luke's face, his mouth held open even now when he desperately wants to bite his lip, nervous and twitchy under Guys' touch? Can he see the way Luke's legs spread, the way his hands clench into fists?

"Another deep breath, okay?"

He breaths in obediently. Feels the bite of the needle, then the cool press of the gold stud.

"Perfect." Guy feeds him another apple gel, strokes the hair back from Luke's face. "What're you lookin' at, Luke?" A pause, then, "Oh. So he's watching. I guess Peony's training must be paying off." He settles his hand around Luke's throat. "That's why he wears a collar, you know. Because that first night when Peony fucked you Asch kept turning his head away, too embarrassed to watch."  
 _  
He was there? I don't remember that!_

But then again Luke doesn't remember much of that first night, just the warm haze of skin against skin, and the incredible shock of Peony's hands pressing Luke's thighs apart, Peony's mouth pressing kisses to Luke's cheeks and temple, and the offer that Peony had used to lure Luke into his bedroom still hanging in the air between them: "Let me show you something nice, Luke."

Guy smiles at the surprise on Luke's face. "He's usually around, you know. Getting him to actually watch is tough, but he's there. He brought two reports in to Jade this morning."

Luke sucks in a sharp breath, his face going to the flame of blush so fast it hurts he's so embarrassed. He hadn't even known someone had come in, too busy with Jade's dick, with having his mouth fucked, to pay attention to anything else. To know that someone had come in, to know it was _Asch_ -! He might not have been able to see Luke, but he'd have seen _Jade_ , known what Luke was doing, maybe even heard the soft, wet sounds and Luke's muffled groans.

Luke stares up at Asch's scarlet figure and burns and burns, writhing on the bench, pulling frantically against the bonds that keep his wrists locked to his thighs, wanting nothing more than to cover his face, to hide. Guy's hand strokes down Luke's chest to his brand new piercing, and twirls the metal gently in Luke's flesh. The tease of it makes it all even worse, like Asch is right there with them. Like he's whispering into Luke's ear, "I want you like this."

And maybe he is . . . Luke finds himself reaching out to that space between their thoughts, the link that lets Asch come in a do what he wants, when he wants, aching to feel, to _know_ Asch's desire. His cock is hardening, standing up straight and proud and all the more obvious with Luke spread out like this, and can Asch see it? Does he know it's for him?

For him. Amazing. Luke can barely even understand it. Asch is such a jerk! Why-? Why does he burn so hot for him?  
 _  
This is worse than with Jade! What the hell is wrong with me?_

Fingers pinch at Luke's nipples, and it's like a jolt thorough his system. His back arches in reflex, his mind blanked in sudden surprise. He's never really cared about his nipples. He's a guy, after all, it's not like he has tits. But here and now, wound so tight and squirming on the bench, they're sensitive, and the bite of pain as Guy pinches harder is delicious, aching counterpoint to the sweet need of Luke's cock.

"Feels nice, huh? It's why he wants these pierced, too. It helps sensitize them."

_It does?_

"That's the weird thing about Asch. He has to be forced to watch you come, but he still wants you pierced so you'll arch your back like this with just a tug. Makes me wonder what goes through that head of his." Another sharp pinch. "I can't argue with his taste, though. You look so pretty like this, Luke, spread open and glittering with gold. You sure you don't want me to pierce you nipples? Have something for Asch to tug on the day he gets the guts to touch you?" He rolls Luke's nipples between his fingertips, and then bends forward, hovering over Luke's chest, and his breath is hot and damp on Luke's skin when he purrs, "Maybe something to suck on?"

Then his tongue darts out and laps at one of Luke's nipples and it's wet and hot and sudden, and Luke jerks like he's been hit by lightening because that's a little like what it feels like. A great shuddering thrill moving through his body and making his thighs tens and cramp, and he can't stop looking at Asch and imagining, wishing. Asch sucking on his nipples, no, he'd _bite_ them, sharp pain to make Luke mewl and gasp. Make them wet with spit and hot with his touch.

Luke moans deep in his throat.

"Luke?"

Cheating. They're cheating and Luke's lost this fight. His hard cock, the way he can't keep his hips still anymore, the flush that's coloured his pale skin are all proof of that. He nods.

Guy doesn't give him a chance to change his mind. He's got the needle ready in a moment, and Luke gulps air through his open mouth to brace himself. The first pain makes him whimper, but the second is too close to really register as Guy drives both needles home first, then sets about putting in the studs.

"Beautiful," Guy sighs, and thumbs one of the piercings. Still raw, unhealed, and even so it makes Luke's dick twitch. "See? Not so bad, right?"

Luke sobs. Nods. He knows he's given in and now it's only a matter of Guy asking just the right way before Luke lets him do his penis. Cringes in anticipation.

But Guy doesn't ask. Instead he sets the needles aside and feeds Luke another apple gel, runs his hands over and over Luke's skin. Across Luke's pecs to play teasingly with his new nipple studs, in firm strokes down Luke's abs. He lays his hands on Luke's hips, thumbs the line of the bone under skin, presses a kiss to the inside of Luke's thigh. "Let's get you a little more relaxed," he says, and takes Luke's cock into his hands.

And then into his mouth.

What follows is wet bliss as Luke is shown what he's been learning, Guy suckling gently on the head of Luke's dick in sweet pressure, then teasing the underside in long, slow strokes as he pets Luke's thighs, the backs of his knees. He presses a kiss in the crease between cock and balls, then sucks sharp and hard to make Luke jerk and whimper. "Asch is still watching, isn't he? Why don't you give him a show, Luke? Let him see how much you like this, how much you wish I was him."

How Luke is supposed to do that, bound helpless and open by leather straps an Guy's wet mouth he doesn't know except that his arms might be tied but his legs aren't, and they jerk and wrap themselves around Guy as if possessed, clenching till they cramp.

His stomach muscles heave and tighten, trying to get him to sit up, fold forward and cradle Guy close as he takes Luke's mouth deeper and deeper, but Luke fights it because it would mean losing sight of Asch, and if there's one thing he couldn't bare it's that. Not when Asch is leaning out the window. Not when Luke can feel the heat of Asch's gaze, the power of his focus hovering in their link. He's clenching the window sill so hard his fingers ache, Luke _knows_ it. Knows it the same way he knows Asch's chest is heaving and his temples are damp with sweat.

He runs a heel down Guy's back in appreciative caress, body thrashing on the bench, back arching till only his head and hips are resting down, fingers twisted into clenching claws as he pulls against the straps just to feel their bite on his thighs. His lungs burn. His muscles ache. And pleasure twists inside him like a heavy coil of fire . . .

Release. He howls his original's name into the silence of their link, a plea and a challenge and a blessing: _Asch!_

He stays rigid just a moment longer before collapsing to the bench. Groans deep in his throat and Guy keeps suckling, drinking from him until he's dry and then past that until Luke squirms and tries to get away, too sensitive now for this.

Asch whirls away from the window and slips into the shadows of the Palace. Luke watches him go and feels a wrench of loss. Did Asch not hear him? Or maybe he wasn't good enough?

Doesn't Asch want to stay and see if Luke will let Guy keep poking him full of holes?

Guy is pulling away, chuckling. He nuzzles against Luke's belly and lips the piercing there. Luke grunts in irritation. His vision's just the slightest bit fuzzy now, and his body feels limp and warm, but Asch is gone and that somehow sours things.

"What's up? Oh. Asch ran away, huh? The coward." Disgust is plain in Guy's voice and on his face. It makes Luke feel a little better. "I'll let Peony know. He'll tighten Asch's hobbles and keep him from running off on you again."

But what's the point of forcing Asch into it? If he doesn't want to stay and watch Luke on his own, forcing him isn't going to make things better. If anything, it'll probably just piss him off more, and Luke is tired of seeing Asch angry. He nudges Guy with a foot, and once he has his attention, shakes his head no.

"What?! Luke, it isn't fair to you if you're the only one who's-"

Luke shakes his head again, and backs it up with a stern glare. Guy sighs and gives in.

"Fine. Whatever. I don't suppose you want me to pierce your cock now, huh?"

Luke's about to shake his head in a definite no, but a sudden thought makes him pause and reconsider.

He looks back at the empty window. Asch doesn't want to stay and watch. Can't bare to say things directly to Luke, is only capable of accepting Luke's affection when Luke's tied and helpless. This, though- this is the first time he's specifically asked for something to be done to Luke and the first time Luke has a choice about accepting Asch's wishes.

What he's asking is terrifying. Who wants to have holes punched in their dick? If Luke wasn't so relaxed from the blow-job he'd probably be twitchy all over again. But Luke weighs his terror against the fear Asch must feel, the fear that's got to be something terrible if Asch needs Luke tied up for even the smallest kisses, the lightest touch between them.

Asch is just so shy and so angry.  
 _  
I want him to take me seriously. I want him to know . . . I want him to know I want him._

He twists his hands in their cuffs restlessly. And finally, slowly, he nods.

~

After about a week of meals taken with Peony as referee and Guy as silent spectator, their utter absence for dinner that night is not only odd, it's downright suspicious. It makes the room seem vastly empty without them, and colourless, too - Peony's ancestors had gone for pale marble and silver gilt and green plants everywhere, and the result is a cool, echo-y palace. Even intimate rooms like this sitting room, which is really just intended to sit at the delicate silver table with guests and eat while you look out over the gardens, seems chill. For all the sweeping grace of Malkuth's capitol, Luke finds himself missing the solid lines and rich colours of home.

It doesn't help that Asch is on edge. He's at his prickliest, snapping and snarling at every twitch Luke makes. It's not fair. Dinner is roast duck and plum sauce, sesame roasted carrots and ginger rice, and Luke is so hungry after not getting to finish lunch. But now he's got to negotiate Asch's mood for something to eat, and considering his current record he's likely to starve before he gets things right.

Nothing he tries works.

At first he's quiet, because nothing seems to piss Asch off faster than listening to Luke talk. But a bare two minutes in and Asch lashes out at him with:

"Well? Are you just going to sit there or are you going to tell me what you want to eat?"

So Luke asks, minding his please and thank you, and he's careful to kiss Asch's fingers in thanks except that makes Asch jerk away as if burned.

He murmurs, "Sorry," and ducks his head, knowing that it won't make Asch happier but at a loss for what else to say or do.

"Don't apologize," Asch snarls. "How many times do I have to tell you? Seeing you grovel makes me sick."

"Well, what the hell else I supposed to do?" Luke flares. "I keep pissing you off and I don't know why! Everything I do is wrong! And when I complain about it you _gag_ me!"

"That-" Asch bites off whatever it is he's going to say. Luke can see his jaw working, the muscles clenching as he grinds his teeth for patience.

"You keep assuming that I know what your thinking," Luke says in a rush. "But we're two different people, and I can't read your mind like you can with me! It's not fair that you keep acting like we're the same just because we look alike!"

"'I am me,'" Asch quotes softly.

Luke slumps in his bonds. "Yeah. . ."

They sit in silence for a long time, the food growing cold, the sky bruising to twilight outside. Finally, Asch stirs. Stands, and comes to kneel before Luke, careful of his hobbles. Without warning he thrusts Luke's thighs apart and grabs his dick, running his thumb along the underside to feel the twin studs that nestle just beneath the head.

His expression is unreadable as he searches Luke's face with narrowed green eyes. "You really went through with it. Why?"

And Luke would love to answer him, to explain the tangle of not-quite-logic, the wanting and the wishes and raw lust he'd felt when he'd seen Asch in that window, but all he can think is: _It's working! He's touching me! He's touching my_ cock _!_

Fingers long and strong like his own from swordwork, but more agile from spellcasting, and covered in black, black kidskin leather as soft and warm as skin. They're like cutouts, shadows against the rosy flush of Luke's dick. Too real, too intense for all that they're feather-light, and they're not holding Luke's cock upright anymore because it's doing that by itself, hardening so fast it makes Luke lightheaded, or is that Asch doing that? The scent of him close, leather, almond soap, and the achingly familiar musk that might as well be Luke's own but isn't. It makes Luke's head spin, and he stares at Asch helplessly.

He wants to tell him. He wants to say something, anything. But all he can do is stare at Asch face and notice, for the first time, all the things that make them different, that make Asch so beautiful. The worry line between his brows, the crooked line of a frown that hovers forever at the left corner of his mouth. The way his eyes are always darker, narrower, and the guarded curve of his lips. He is all shadows to Luke, all that is refined and sharpened - a true noble like Natalia, in breeding and in attitude, unconscious but always there.

And here is Luke, and what is he? He isn't Asch's copy. He can't be. They're nothing alike.

Asch is just so beautiful.

Which is why, when Luke finally manages to get his mouth to work and forces sound out past the crippling knot in his throat, he blurts: "You're beautiful." Because it's all he's thinking.

And maybe they are alike in some ways, both of them going scarlet to the tips of their ears, mirroring each other as they jerk back from those words and that truth, and the aching feeling Luke's just revealed. Asch's hands leave Luke's cock to clench in the air before him, and Luke himself has to look away.

He _hurts_ , he feels so exposed. Never mind that he's naked like this, that Asch can see in graphic detail just what Luke feels, Luke has _said_ it, admitted to it, and that's an entirely different thing.

Is Asch going to snap at him again? Rage and snarl, and push Luke away for his clumsy attempts at affection? He's still unmoved, still not hard even though Luke is offered up to him like this, and with Asch's touch gone Luke is losing hope that he has any chance at all.

" . . . when this began, Peony told me even though you might not need something, you can still desire it," Asch says slowly.

Luke twitches. He doesn't know what he's supposed to say to that, or where this is coming from. But Asch is talking and he doesn't sound mad so Luke risks a darting glance at his original's face.

There's none of the anger there Luke had feared. Instead Asch's face is smooth, unlined, and his eyes are thoughtful. They catch Luke's, and then slowly, deliberately travel down Luke's body to stare at Luke's erection.

It's a shivery, pleasant feeling, to have Asch look at him like that, and Luke feels himself flushing for entirely different reasons. Ducks his head and blushes brighter as his cock perks up, a little twitch that makes the light glint off the gold studs.

Asch continues in that same quiet, thoughtful voice, "You said you didn't need my acknowledgment." He quirks an eyebrow, then settles his hands back on Luke's thighs to spread them even further. He says, "Hey, replica. I'm looking at you."

The reaction is instant and unexpected and embarrassing as a heavy shudder travels through Luke's body and his cock immediately starts to leak.

"I can see how hard your dick is," says Asch. "Is that because you want me? You, who've already taken everything from me, are greedy for even more?"

The words bite deeply, a bitter sting of guilt that makes Luke flinch, bite his lip. "Asch. . ."

"But you're not in a position to take anything from me now, are you? Tied up like this. . . now it's _my_ turn to take, isn't it, replica?" Asch goes on. He grabs Luke's collar and yanks him forward, and their lips are a hair's breath apart so that Luke can feel the heat of Asch's skin, the father touch of Asch's breath, and he parts his lips without thinking, opening his mouth just one taste-

Asch snorts and shoves, toppling Luke backwards so he lands hard on the marble floor, narrowly avoiding cracking his head but no less dizzy because Asch is _crawling over him_ , on all fours above Luke, hair spilling down to form a scarlet curtain around them and cut off the world so there is nothing but Asch and Asch and Asch above Luke as he lies helpless.

"You're so eager to offer yourself up to me. And you're always like this! Ever since you decided to _change_ ," Asch spits the word, "You've been desperate to give me anything I want. The Jewel of Lorelei. Your place in Fabre manor. Your friends and your family and your name." He leans in close again to breath the next words into Luke's ear, "Your body."

It's like those words are not just a dark truth whispered between them but a command: Luke's body arches up immediately, trying desperately to press against Asch's, but all he gets is scornful laughter and Asch pulling away, Asch settling to kneel between Luke's spread legs.

"But why should I accept? Everything you offer me was mine in the first place. Even your body is nothing but a copy of my own. And what's even worse is that you're ready to just throw it all away. You treat it like it's _garbage_. _My_ family, _my_ face, _my_ name," Asch growls. His face twists with something worse than hate, worse than rage: despair. "Mine. How- how can you be a different person, when everything you are is _mine_?"

And how is Luke even supposed to answer that when he himself doesn't understand what he is? When he still searches for a purpose, when he still hungers for a reason? All he knows is that he's himself and that Asch is finally seeing him, finally saying the things that lay bare the pain and strangeness between them, and though his words are brutal and angry, his gaze lingers over Luke's body, at the gold studs in Luke's nipples, at his belly.

Touch. A single brush of those black gloved fingers to the stud in Luke's navel is like a Thunder Blade sent straight into Luke's nerves, makes him jerk and groan deep his chest. His cock doesn't just feel hard anymore - it feels swollen, too full and too heavy and too hot with blood and lust, almost flat to Luke's belly for how straight it stands. It hurts, and he feels the tears of frustration in his eyes and can't help but add to them with those of humiliation, imagining how pathetic he must look. He wrenches at the cuffs that keep his hands locked to his thighs and feels the salt of his sweat sting on the raw skin, knows he's going to bruise for sure and maybe even bleed if he keeps going but how can he care when Asch is sitting there, watching him? Touching him?

"Asch! Asch, please!"

Asch just sneers at him. "Please what?"

"Touch- touch me! Touch my cock!" Luke sobs.

"Tch. You want my hand on your dick that badly, replica?" Asch pulls his hand from Luke's skin -no, no, no!- and rises up on his knees, tall, straight and proud. He holds out his hand. Not high, not far. Just about the level of his breastbone. "Then work for it."

Luke growls in frustration. Sweat stick his hair to his temples and beads on his upper lip, but he wants it so he works for it just as Asch commands, bracing his shoulders on the slick floor and arching his back, planting his feet to either side of Asch's knees and forcing himself up into a deep bow, hips lifting, stomach and back and legs as straining and when Luke feels the heat of Asch's palm cup his dick he almost collapses in shock. Overloaded.

Instead he somehow gets his trembling muscles to firm up, rising himself up on his toes and then falling down a bit, rubbing up against Asch's hand. He pants, gasps, and surges up and down again, hungry for more of that blissful friction.

"It's like you're some kind of trained dog," says Asch. "Will you do anything I ask, like you did with Van?"

Awful to have Master Van's name spoken at this time. It brings back the horrible mix of pain and love and only makes this torture sweeter. But Asch has asked a question and Luke has to answer before he gets impatient and takes his hand away, except that, "I don't know," Luke groans. Because he doesn't. Because, "You- you haven't-" another surge up and down, and Luke's legs are shaking, the sweat running in hot trails down his arched back, his flexing calves, the ripples of his stomach. "You haven't really asked me to do anything I didn't want to do- _AH!_ "

Caught at the very peak of his arc, Asch's fingers gripping tight around Luke's balls, squeezing too tight so Luke whimpers, but his cock won't flag, oh no! His cock seems to think this is just another fun game and throbs enjoyment.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Asch snarls. "I had Guy pierce your cock!" His other hand comes up to tug on the jewelery, and it's only his grip on Luke's balls that keeps Luke from coming right there. "You're telling me you wanted this?"

Luke laughs breathlessly, getting lightheaded now from the blood rushing to his head and pooling in his cock and refusing to pump through his veins in any kind of normal way, pounding through his heart in a tide of heat instead. "He wouldn't have done it if I hadn't said yes."

"You . . . why? _WHY_ , dammit?!"

That question again.

And really, when you boil everything down, all the feelings and the half-wishes, the answer is, "For you. I wanted- I wanted-" his breath hitches. He still wants, and he _aches_ now, bent like this with his legs and back straining, his cock trapped in the glorious prison of Asch's fingers.

"You wanted what?" says Asch, and this time his voice is quiet. It travels right through Luke, ripping a shudder out of him, a gasping moan as well, and the simple truth spills out:

" _I wanted you to smile at me!_ "

Asch's touch vanishes.

Luke collapses to the floor like a puppet with cut strings, sobbing and trying to curl in on himself in a futile effort to ease the ache in his dick, unable to look Asch in the face because he's sure that sounded just as stupid to Asch as it did to himself, and any minute now they'll be the snarls, the explosive anger.

". . . how pathetic." Asch's voice is a whisper, but it seems thunderously loud to Luke. "Is that really all you want?" He laughs softly. "No. There's more to it than that, but you're probably too stupid to figure it out. Hey, replica. Look at me."

An order Luke can't possibly disobey. His head lolls, and his gaze comes to rest on Asch's luminous face.

And Asch smiles. Just the faint curve of his lips, the slightest warmth in his green eyes, and the entire world seems to come to a stuttering halt and Luke's heart along with it.

Whatever Asch sees on Luke's face in that moment Luke can't tell, but it seems to please him because his smile twitches just a bit wider and he raises his eyebrows and says, "Show me how much you like this . . . Luke."

Luke fon Fabre climaxes so hard it makes him _howl_ , voice ripped out of him by sheer sobbing glory as pleasure swamps in him a sudden unexpected tsunami. His mind is blank and his body is on fire and his come spills out his seed in a veritable fountain across his belly. He writhes on the floor before Asch, heels scraping along the ground and chest heaving as he draws air in and in, and _in-_

Not enough. He can't _breathe_ oh shit too much Asch said his _name_ and it feels so good and he's still smiling and Luke's eyes roll right back up into his head, and he passes out.

~

When Luke wakes up he's still on the floor, sore and stiff and with come drying on his belly. His head feels fuzzy. He blinks, blinks again to try and get his eyes to focus properly, and when he's finally awake enough to register the world around him he realizes that he's staring up into Asch's face.

He can't help himself - he smiles up at his original, and he would have reached up to touch Asch's face if his hands weren't still bound.

They hurt, too, actually. He winces and tugs experimentally to see just what he's done to himself. Freezes when he feels Asch's hand restrain him.

"You've done enough damage to yourself for tonight. Any more and you'll need a gel."

"Asch . . ." his voice feels as raw and battered as his body. He licks his lips. Breathes.

"Guy will be in soon to prepare you for the night," Asch continues, ignoring Luke's weak attempts at speech and rising to his feet, turning to go. "I- I'll see you tomorrow, replica. You've given me a lot to think about."

Something horribly cold to Luke about the sight of Asch's back turned toward him, his formal words, and Luke can't bare to leave it at this. "Wait-" he gasps. "Asch! Please!"

Asch doesn't turn around, but he does pause, and that's all Luke needs.

"I- it was really- thank you," he says helplessly, stumbling over what he means and what he wishes he could say, and what's too hopelessly embarrassing to ever get out. "Thanks, Asch. I really liked it. I just- I just wish you enjoyed it, too," he finally manages, face flaming. "You never- I mean, it's not like I look except I kinda do and you're never- uh. Hard. I just wish I could-"

"Idiot," interrupts Asch. "Though I suppose that proves you really are my replica, since I'm just as stupid as you are. All this time and I'd thought for sure Guy at least would have told you."

He turns, finally, and Luke is unexpectedly charmed by the faint dusting of pink across Asch's cheeks, the bridge of his nose. Is entranced by the sight of Asch's fingers unlacing his pants. Black gloves and black pants and black shirt, but the flash of pale skin Luke is expecting doesn't come. Instead he gets black leather straps and cold silvered steel wrought in a cage that cups Asch's dick and cradles it close to his body.

"It's a chastity belt," Asch says in a voice that's way too normal for this. "Peony's idea of fairness, or maybe just a joke." He stares down at it, disgust plain on his face. "I haven't been allowed to jerk off since you began training. I can't even get hard properly in this damn thing."

". . . oh," is all Luke can say, because he's suddenly breathless. There's Asch's cock, rosy and soft looking, and trapped in that elegant cage that's shaped just so, and the image of him as locked and bound as Luke, helpless to do anything against the heat between his legs as Luke is but in an entirely different way. . . Luke licks his lips without thought. He wonders if the metal is cool, or heated by Asch's body. He wonders what it would feel like to press his lips to it and feel the contrast of Asch's soft skin and the polished steel.

"Replica."

The tone of command yanks Luke's attention back to Asch's face.

"This damn thing isn't coming off until you finish your training. So _learn fast,_ " snarls Asch, suddenly his angry, prickly self again. He yanks his pants closed and laces them up, then spins on his heel and stomps for the door. He pauses one last time, though, just before he leaves. ". . . if you do a good enough job, maybe I'll let you help me take it off."

And then he's gone.

And Luke is left in the cool marble room, a lone, smouldering coal of desire.

-end


End file.
